Joby Energy Hopes to Harness Atmospheric Wind by Next Year

Joby Energy hopes to be able to harness atmospheric wind with a 500-kilowatt winged turbine by next year. Although this is a pretty ambitious undertaking, the success of this project could mean big things in terms of eco-conscious power generation.

The smartest part of this idea lies in the fact that the highest levels of our planet's atmosphere contain a staggering 870 terawatts of power (870 trillion watts). In addition to this, it would require significantly less raw material used per watt of power. In fact, Joby Energy would use just "20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons."